Whispers making their way out from the manufacturing centres in China and Japan suggest that what could be the next iPhone, the 5se, may already be rolling off the assembly line in a bid to be ready for a March 2016 launch.

After witnessing decline in sales of iPhones, Apple looks in no mood to let things get worse in the coming quarters and hence is planning to launch a smaller screen variant of the iPhone for emerging markets where buyers can’t pay as much as their counterparts in western economies.

The iPhone 5se, news of which has not even been confirmed by Apple yet looks to become a reality very soon.Number of case makers have started to come up with custom cases for the next iPhone, seemingly confirming to the world the plans of Apple for launching this phone soon.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has an outstanding track record making forecasts about the iPhone or iPad, expects the 4-inch device to resemble the iPhone 6. Case maker Rearth USA has also released renders of a case for what it is calling the Apple iPhone 6c.

Latest reports further suggest that Apple had come up with this idea of the 4 inch iPhone last year only but was waiting for the perfect time to bring it to the markets.

The iPhone 5se is expected to be powered by the A9 chipset, and come equipped with an 8 MP or 12 MP rear-facing camera and Live Photos. The handset will miss out on the 3D Touch feature The display could be the same as on the last 4- inch iPhone, the 5c.

The 5se will be offered in two storage options, 16 GB, and 64 GB. Pricing is expected to be around $450 (approximately Rs 30,000).